You're surrounded by other people all the time. And you have to take responsibility if you're the eldest or one of the older siblings, and you're constantly communicating in a way that perhaps you aren't if you're in a smaller family.
Harry WestPeople who work for me know that they have a lot of autonomy. I like to know what's going on, and I'll offer my opinion, but I want people to feel that they can say to me, "That's great that you have that opinion, but, no, we're not going to do that."
Harry WestI really appreciate it when people say "no" to me. I want people to understand that I'm totally supportive of what it is they're trying to do as long as we're all on the same team.
Harry WestMy father builds homes. So I grew up around the idea that you can take a piece of land, and you can bulldozer it and build new homes on it. You can create something new.
Harry WestI'm the eldest of six kids, and I think that may have some significance. I think there's some correlation between maybe being the eldest and wanting to blaze a trail. I think that probably helps in some way.
Harry WestI have in the past tended to overestimate the amount of change I can affect in the short run and then not fully appreciate the change I can affect in the long run. And so I've learned that it's critical to think carefully about the pace of change, and it's something that I've learned the hard way.
Harry West